A narrowboats journey through repair, cruising, and other joys of the english waterways.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Cold Showers.

I am not as young as I was, and my stamina is slipping. Boating becomes very un-tranquil when the rope on the stove door needs replacing AGAIN. My top tip for such a job is to make sure you have the right size rope in the first place. Having finally done it properly I pushed and prodded the fire into submission and as it began to roar, the warmth gently chased the sub-zero air away. The clock chimed indicating the end of the ‘engine running time’ and thus the indicator of hot water. I had been grimy for quite some time, so I jumped into the shower enthusiastically, turned on the tap and lept straight back out again. Cold showering is something I always used to do. Bracing myself with thoughts of palm beaches in the rain I climbed back in, and 5 minutes later emerged wet, cold, but clean. Next time when I am at work, and tanned from coal dust and mud I won’t decide to ‘wait until I get home for that long awaited shower’ but will spend 10p and shower. 10p is my favourite currency and that will teach me for not embracing it.

1 Comments:

Cold showers, we experienced this last October when the weather became very cold on the Thursday night. We had “chugged” down past Hilperton and were hoping to find a mooring in Bradford-on-Avon where a highly recommended Indian Restaurant beckoned. We surprisingly found a good mooring just up from the K&A Trust trip boat and settled down to a peaceful evening. We wandered to the local pub and did a spot of gongooziling with the boaters coming up the lock, (careful now! Etc.). With Indian food procured we had a great meal and eventually turned in for the night.

In the morning the central heating failed to start, (too cold) and it was cold with a frost and beautiful mists on the water. Clearly the running yesterday was not enough for the hot water system and Mrs. Goodfellow succeeded in obtaining the hot shower but GOODFELLOW was less lucky and had to endure the cold shower! Mrs G suggested that we only had a cold shower in Italy earlier in the summer but GOODFELLOW retorted stating that it was 31 degrees in Rome!

Nevertheless a cold but stunning “chug” back to out hire base ensued and the end to yet another fantastic four days on the Kennet & Avon Canal. By the way did I tell you about the early morning “wind” in the basin at Bradford-on Avon? For another day I think.